Singapore’s young female paddlers, Gu Xintian, 12, and Hayley Lim, 10, both clinched bronze in their respective events at the WTT Youth Contender Lignano 2025 in Italy.

Gu, who most recently represented Singapore at the ITTF World Hopes Week and Challenge in Sheffield, England, claimed third in the U13 Girls Singles event, where she lost to eventual champion, Enya Hu of Switzerland, 3-1 in the semifinals (11-8, 2-11, 8-11, 10-12).

In the quarterfinals, Gu overcame South Korea’s Choi Sun 3-2 in a thrilling match that went the way of the Singaporean, 6-11, 11-1, 15-17, 11-7, 12-10.

Lim, competing in the U11 Girls Singles event, tried her best to find a way past her South Korean opponent in the semifinals, but Choi Yeoon proved too strong for the Singaporean, winning in straight sets, 11-2, 11-5, 11-6.

Lim had earlier beaten teammate Liu Xinqi in the quarterfinals, keeping her nerves to win 3-2 (11-13, 11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9).

Singapore had 7 players reach the knockout stage of the U11 Girls Singles, a testament to the good work put in by the players and the coaches.